I'm not saying that you wasted your time, but there were some things that you overlooked. Things that you should have avoided — and since you didn't, they seriously made you look … amateurish.

Does that mean it's too late?

Nope. But in order for people to take you seriously, you have to look like a pro.

Because when you at least look like a pro, readers will start taking you, and what you say, more seriously. So, exactly what do you have to do to look like a pro?

Read on.

9 (Pro) Defining Tips That Helps You Create a Blog That Gets Read

To be completely honest, there's an ocean-sized gap between what pro bloggers do and what amateurs do.

But here's the thing: it does't have to be.

And luckily for you, I'm going to share some key tips to minimize that gap and give you a fighting chance online.

Ready to learn what they are?

Tip #1: Put Up A Professional Photo (1 Hour – 1 Day)

Believe it or not, image is important. Not just in blogging, but in life as well.

Let me share a quick story with you.

Back in the summer 2014, two men decided to conduct a social experiment on homelessness.

In this social experiment, they created a video to see how many people would be willing to give that homeless man money if he were dressed up in a suit. In almost all instances, people gave money to him when he was in a suit. In fact, some gave him more than he was asking for.

But, when he tried to ask for money in ragged and torn clothing … no luck.

So what does this mean?

Simple.

How you look, plays a significant role in if people pay attention to you. That's why, as a blogger, you want to look as professional as possible in whatever pictures you share.

Sue Anne Dunlevie does this extremely well with her blog. Here are some images she uses to maintain that professional look:

Images like these make a huge difference in bringing some professionalism to your blog.

What To Do Next

Take a head shot of yourself. Preferably something with a clear background (though not mandatory) that you can use on your about page, in the sidebar, etc.

Due to technology, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get this done. You can easily get this accomplished with a smart phone or even a tablet and some good lighting.

Tip #2: Create An Avatar For Leaving Comments (5 – 10 minutes)

Do you know what the worst thing is that you can do for your brand?

This …

If you have any goals to build a popular blog, or become a popular blogger, this is a foolish mistake that you can't make.

[tweet_box design=”box_06″]Creating an avatar, not only helps you look more professional, but also increases your branding.[/tweet_box]

What she talked about in the post was linked to a previous post that Ms. Ileane wrote a few years back:

See how it's done?

This will help get you some points with Google and possible traffic to that post you linked to.

What To Do Next

Link responsibly. Every post you write is an opportunity to cross-promote previous posts that you wrote. Before you hit publish, read over your post and look for opportunities that you can link to related posts that your readers may enjoy.

Tip #5: Make Your Theme Look Awesome (3+ hours)

As a blogger, what's the last thing that you want?

Think about it.

If someone reads your blog, chances are, they read other blogs too, right? Other blogs that probably talks about the same topics you talk about, wouldn't you think?

If that's the case, how will you or your content, be remembered if you look like everyone else?

That's why you need to make your theme stand out.

Whether you have a free theme or pay for a premium one, you want to create a unique, memorable brand and experience for people.

What To Do Next

Make It Consistent. Whatever theme you choose, start by changing the logo, colors, font, etc. You want the theme to look nothing like the default version and more like something that customized. Small changes can make a HUGE difference. Just look at the awesome job Henneke did with her theme.

She took it from this:
To this:

Tip #6: Add a Favicon To Your Site. (10 minutes)

Branding is very important in blogging.

Something as simple as a favicon can really help your blog stand out.

Here's a screenshot of Ms. Ileane's blog. In the top left corner, you can see her favicon logo.

Clearly you can see how much more brandable that it, compared to a filler image, don't you?

What To Do Next

Upload Your Favicon. This could be a custom image or even a picture of yourself for the time being, as long as you have something uploaded — and Chris Hufnagel from WPBrain, has a great post to guide you through the process.

Tip #7: Make It Easy For Readers To Subscribe (20 – 45 minutes)

Subscribers are the lifeblood of your blog, correct?

That's why you need to take every opportunity to get them to subscribe. The problem many bloggers have, is that they don't make it easy for readers. They either:

Have no call to action

Hide it all the way in the footer

Make you solve a CAPTCHA puzzle before you're able to register

It's difficult to build a list that way.

The easier you make it for readers to subscribe, the greater the chances are they will.

Take Quick Sprout for example. They make it very easy and very well known that they want you to subscribe, don't they?

Take every available opportunity you can to welcome easy subscriptions to your blog.

What To Do Next

Be effective. Create effective bribes in all of the key places. Sidebar, at the end of each post, on the about page, etc.

Tip #8: Include a quality image with each blog post. (30+ minutes)

Want to know something?

Creating and using original images are just as important as creating original content.

Think about it.

You wrote an absolutely remarkable post on a topic you know your blog readers want to know. Your headline is captivating. Your entire post is filled with practical information.

But, here's where you lose some points.

Your image is not only uninspiring, but it's something 10 other bloggers used as their feature image in the last month.

No bueno.

You NEED to make sure that your images are just as, or more, unique and original as your content. And that's exactly what Adam Connell from Blogging Wizard does. He creates images that makes him and his post, completely original:

What To Do Next

Figure out a “theme” for your images that's not only appealing, but will help you stand out. More importantly, make sure to stick with that “theme” for all of your images — that's how you'll rapidly grow your brand.

Because a headline could be the the difference between whether someone stays on your blog and reads your post, or doesn't even bother to waste their time.

That's how important headlines are. For example, let's do a quick comparison, okay?

Compare these two headlines:

Which one of these two would entice you to read their post on content marketing?

Clearly the second headline is more enticing because it's playing on the notion that we've been lied to this whole time — and don't actually know it. And the only way to know the truth is to click the headline and read the post.

How about a trickier one:

Which headline would you click?

Personally, the first one entices me more because it's saying, “Hey, I ignored the advice given by experts and I still got great results.”

That's just enticing enough to get me to find out what tips were ignored to produce those results.

Don't you agree?

What To Do Next

Scour a few popular blogs and look at the headlines they create. Study them and if they have an outstanding record of attracting readers, create your own set of headline templates to always go to.

Analyze them. Regardless of what headlines you come up with, put it through headline analyzing tests you'll find on CoSchedule or AMInstitute to determine if they're good enough to draw attention.

Smart Bloggers Don't Make These Amateurish Mistakes

I know. I know.

As a blogger, there's so much bad advice out there to really know what to follow, right?

But you know what?

Your entire blogging existence can evaporate instantly if you make (or continue to make) these amateurish mistakes.

That's why you want to avoid these mistakes at all costs. That's why, even as a new blogger, you don't want to look like a new blogger. That's why it's important to follow these tips and make it seem as though you've been blogging for a long time.

So take another look at these tips above.

If you haven't done them yet, get on it.

Don't delay.

Because if your goal is to look like a pro, these are the building blocks you need to take to get eventually there.

Did we miss anything? If so, please share your thoughts with us in the comment section below. Are you still looking like an amateur or do you look like a pro? Also, please share this post with your friends and readers as well. I'm almost certain that they don't want to look like an amateur either.

Andrew M. Warner is the content writing mastermind behind Content Ranked, a site that helps marketers and businesses create content on their site that converts. When he's not creating content, he's usually networking on Twitter, over at @CopyWarner

You have some really professional pictures on your blog and I like them. So much so they had to be used as an example on this blog post for Ms. Ileane. Thanks so much for taking time to comment. Truly appreciate it.

Andrew,
What a pleasant read! I’m always looking for ways to up my blogging game. I just recently learned to customize my meta description. More often than not, I was just lazy and didn’t fill it out, but learned it’s better to make your own.

Nice that you put the amount of time it will take. I’m always pressed for time so knowing how long something will take can help me decide when I can do it.

Meta descriptions are tricky. Even though it’s said they don’t contribute anything to search engine rankings, it’s very important to do it for the readers. Because I was lazy, I too didn’t fill it out, but it;s super important to do it yourself.

Time is something we always wish we had more of, isn’t it? Do you use any programs or anything to organize your time?

That consistency thing is so important isn’t it? And, it’s amazing how the little things add up to make a big difference.

There are a couple of things you said that really stood out to me personally:

1. Favicon – it’s small but it can be so significant.It’s a great little branding tool but it says so much more that we realize subconsciously.

2. Post titles and descriptions – while I don’t use WordPress I still ensure in my CMS that my titles and descriptions are there. It makes sharing simple and easy so no one has to edit and you’re right; it makes you look more professional.

3. Gravitar – I really appreciate you mentioning me. Our brands are important and so is the consistency in communicating them. While I want people to recognize my logo I want them to identify with me more. People don’t buy brands they buy people. Same goes with blogging or any other form of marketing we may do. They resonate with our consistency when they see us over and over again.

You’re absolutely right. Those little things do add up And make a huge difference.

Oh, you mentioned something there that’s truly important. The title and description is very key to sharing. It truly is. Nothing is more unprofessional than sharing something and it having a description that makes no sense so what you’re sharing … and has symbols, etc. all over the place.

“While I want people to recognize my logo I want them to identify with me more. People don’t buy brands they buy people. Same goes with blogging or any other form of marketing we may do. They resonate with our consistency when they see us over and over again.”

Hey, Andrew! How are you doing? I love your suggestions here. Although they are all important, the one I like best is creating a Gravatar. It is so important for people to know what you look like. I just read a post about Twitter mistakes, and the writer said, “Don’t be an egghead.” LOL

I love the fact that my Gravatar follows me everywhere. And I love seeing the Gravatars of people that I know, like and trust. It’s like seeing a friendly face in the crowd.

These are solid ways that new bloggers can get off to a great start instead of flopping around like a fish out of water like I – and maybe you? – did at first. Thanks for sharing. I will, too.

I saw this title in my Twitter feed and had to check it out. Bonus surprise seeing you here!

It’s always the little things that make such a difference, huh? I appreciate how you put time estimates on each of these improvements. Makes it that much more appealing when I finally decide to tackle it. I’ve been brainstorming some custom post images with Canva, and it’s good to know that I’ll be saving hours on my posting time — instead of searching for relevant images that MIGHT work.

Great strategies here, Andrew. I know so many others who will eat these up, so I’ll share them out today.

This is share-freaking-tastic, Andrew! It really highlights how it all really boils down to the details. You can write and publish but that’s not going to get you anywhere. I don’t think enough people understand that blogging is an art and a craft…and requires you learn and implement a lot more than an article.

BIG ass high five for the shout out and love on my images…you ROCK, brotha!

Look who you have as a guest. So nice to see Andrew here sharing his knowledge.

Great post Andrew but I’m sure you hear that all the time.

I know when you’re brand new there is a lot to learn but little things like the Favicon and the Gravitar are SO important. I’ll recognize a face now and know who that is which is so important when you’re trying to make those important connections. As you did mention, it has a lot to do with our brands.

Although everything you did mention here is important mistakes like the meta description I still see a lot of. Once again, another lesson learned if we want to be noticed for the great content that we’re each sharing.

Loved seeing some familiar faces here that you used like Sue and Don. I also love the look of Henneke’s blog as well, it really stands out.

Thanks for helping those eager to learn how to stand out like a pro Andrew because your tips are spot on.

Those thing DO have a lot to do with our brands … and they’re very important. And regarding the meta-description, I still have some mistakes with that. Either way, I’ll have to go through each post and make sure that it has some type of description there.

I like the way you laid out these tips – you make it so easy to follow and execute.

I remember for quite a while I just had the default favicon from my web host, until someone pointed out that I should change it. Well, like you say, it only takes a few minutes to get one organised and uploaded, and its so much better to have your own favicon rather than the default. Its the cumulation of these small things that will make your blog shine.

When I started blogging, I was lucky that I did not make any of the obvious blunders above – which I must hastily point, was due to the excellent minds I networked with and learnt from. To amount to greatness in a field, all you need do is to persistently imitate the big boys/girls, right?

I did that – and I was successful to a point!

However, as you may have already known, imitating the big boys does not guarantee greatness – and that was my challenge! I was blogging about the most complex things I did not fully understand (because my mentors were doing so), was deploying monetization strategies that were clear business suicide (in retrospect) and a ton of other things – many of which I am not proud reproducing here.

It was hell – literarily. And in a curious way, hilarious when I finally realized how stupid (and amateurish) I must have looked.

Your entry is well appreciated; in conjunction with other awesome tips around the web, an amateur is likely to escape the badge some of us wore for some time!

If you surround yourself with excellent minds from the beginning, most of these mistakes can be avoided. If not all of them.

Imitating anyone has its limits because they have a different situation than you … were at a different point than you … a whole bunch of things. You should only take pieces of what works for them and modify it to work best for you. I made the same errors when I started by trying to copy Pay Flynn … and I failed and was set back a few months … but I learned that I could just take a few key points that worked and strategize the best way to make it work for me and my situation.

I think your blogging tips are extremely practical for a new or seasoned blogger. The fellow bloggers you mentioned are fine examples and are dedicated to helping others. I look forward to reading more of your content here on BBT and on your blog.

I feel like the beauty and elegance of this post is in its simplicity… so many of the points might seem straightforward, such as adding a Favicon or linking to related posts… but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them all together in one guide.

And I think sometimes those of us who have been at blogging for a while forget that while these things might seem simple, they’re not even on the radar for many new bloggers.

Most of these are pretty straightforward and practical. But you said it there, my friend, “those of us who have been at blogging for a while forget that while these things might seem simple, they’re not even on the radar for many new bloggers.”

Awesome choice in guest today – and I’m happy to see Andrew sharing on this topic, he’s so knowledgeable! Thanks!

Hey, Andrew,

Great job, my friend, and congrats on being published on Basic Blog Tips – love Ileane’s site!

You covered some things are that very important, and starting out, I had no idea about them and how much of a difference they would make.

Gravatar – never knew what that was, and when I set up a free account finally, things got so much easier. My image was pulled from my profile across to a lot of different places, and I was relieved. LOL

I had a favicon pretty early on, and I think it really makes a difference, and appreciate you emphasizing this. Appreciated your mention of wanting to look professional too, and Sue’s the one to pick for that, awesome! She always looks so professional, which is not easy. I think the first impression can be good or bad and visually appealing professional pictures and graphics are so important.

Well done, my friend – loved the examples you gave for how to stand out like a pro, and will definitely be spreading the word about your article!

I think many people don’t know the importance of these things starting out … but they make a huge difference collectively. And professionalism is important as people make a judgement based on the first impressions they get. You do an awesome job of this as well. In fact, all my blogging buddies do … it’s just something that newbies need to know and understand.

You brought up something that also makes me cringe. Not only don’t I lime trying to solve a CAPTCHA code to subscribe, I dont like to do this or create an account to comment either. If I read a good blog I just want to comment and not go through hoops to do so. This may be anal but it’s gotten to that point now as oppose to before.

I really like these tips and Im following at least 8 of them. One thing I can improve on is to make my images a bit more unique. So far I haven’t found anyone using the same images I am (knock on wood) but I can definitely add my own flavor from time to time!

Thanks for sharing Andrew and thanks Ileane for having him! Have a great rest of the week you two!

OH brother. Creating an account to comment is the worst. Right after the CAPTCHA. There’s absolutely ZERO chance of me creating an account to comment … unless it’s something like Disqus which I’m already on. But even that is iffy. And would be annoying if I wasn’t on it.

Like you said, you just want to comment and not go through hoops to do so.

I’m still trying to find my angle with images … and hopefully I’ll be able to find it soon. Knock on wood for you as well.

Hey Andrew! i really liked the story on the homeless guy. its really a very good example. a great man said once to me “Looking good is not important, but its everything”. Also, i concur with your idea about the image and avatar. Your presentation is the first impression which is very important. that is a nice piece of work. All the tips have been beautifully covered. You ‘re actually turned out to be a pro-blogger. Good Luck. Cheers.

Glad you enjoyed the post as well. You’re right. When people follow the advice here, and do their content promotion correctly, they’ll achieve goals that they never thought possible. They just have to start taking action.

Hi Andrew and Ileane, Great post on making blogs and ourselves look more professional. The one area i think I need to work on is images, I do use photoshop but finding original stuff can be hard at times. I must remember to take more photos that I could use for posts. If someone leaves me a comment without an avatar it goes to spam. Nothing worse than an egg head on your post 🙂
I would add not to have too many ads on the blog too. It cheapens the overall look I believe.
I hope you both have a nice weekend ahead!

Sometimes it isn’t even a matter of finding original stuff. Even making drastic modifications to images you found is good. I have photoshop BUT don’t know how to use it effectively. But if and when I learn it, I’ll be using that to modify a lot of images.

These are all great tips. We have been trying to decide on using a photo for our site although the way we have things laid out I’m not sure it would make much sense for us to use a personal photo. Maybe a collective photo of all of our contributors. We also prefer to have wide content layout areas which we think can help.

Your photo doesn’t have to be a personal photo persay … and I looked at your site, and something really professional like Sue’s won’t work. But maybe a pic … a group pic .. like what Problogger.net does may work. You want your readers to see who you are … they’ll connect better with you that way.

hey, very detailed and helpful article. can you please tell me how to start getting genuine subscribers if one has a very new blog (4 months old) like mine and how to start building contacts through a proper food blogger community

Andrew (and Ileane), I love this post! (Just like I love the “How to Fail at Blogging” post you wrote for Sue on SuccessfulBlogging.com and linked to in this article).

Both posts are so straight-forward and practical. You got me to read and you made me want to keep reading. So kudos, my friend!

One thing I’d love to add is that having a great About Page is gold. As a curious cat I always love to know more about the blogger I’m checking out. The more powerful their about page, the more likely I am to see them as a pro (instead of an amateur). I know Gertrude crafted some great tips here >> http://basicblogtips.com/super-star-about-page.html

Thanks again for sharing your helpful advice, Andrew. I’ll be sure to share this with some newbies I know who struggle with building their “pro” status.

The truth is that our about pages are never done. There are always ways we can tweak and refine along the way as we learn more about our audience (and ourselves). Enjoy playing around with it and you have a great weekend, too!

Awesome post, Andrew. You pretty much hit the nails in the blogging head with the tips and advice featured above. Regarding the last point about writing titles that tickle the curiosity of readers, it will be difficult for beginning bloggers to get a feel of what makes a “compelling” title at first. For this purpose, I would suggest them to use CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer. The tool grades the entered headline using different factors so they can see what they need to improve to get a higher score for their post headline. I hope this helps!

Thanks for the compliment. I’ve seen people offer some pretty low value things as well. I just want to be the best I can be and help my fellow human beings out … whichever way I can. And if that’s by providing detailed content, so be it.

Great theme is the first thing a site visitor sees and I am having a hard time deciding where to buy a good theme. Almost all theme providers are now on a subscription basis and sometimes more costly than the hosting fee. I think I have to start with that in order to look like a problogger.

This is great advice for anyone starting/maintaining a blog.
Especially the gravatar and the meta description.

Although i don’t chase seo rankings, it’s still important to make sure you are covered just in case you show up in the rankings one day.
And having a gravatar helps build trust. if people can see your face, logo then you are building that trust factor.

I know the difference between a hobby blogger and a pro blogger and also know the benefits of being a pro blogger. So I always love to recommend others also to become a pro blogger. According to me a Pro Blogger is a person who knows how to boost the readers engagement on his/her blog and also when to write what.

About Ms. Ileane

I'm a blogger, podcaster, YouTuber and social media diva (or Social Media Veteran if you like the way that sounds better). True story: I started blogging by accident when I actually thought I was "subscribing" to my daughter Nicole's first blog. Since then I'm committed to helping others avoid all the mistakes I've made along the way. Get one-on-one coaching and exclusive perks when you join my community on Patreon!Read More…